Blank
by Alexa Piper
Summary: Maddie discovers a new way to rid the town of the 'menace' that is Phantom - simply train him to be 'good' instead! Angsty revelation fic.
1. Part I

Blank

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Maddie twirled her screwdriver, smirking in satisfaction. "Give me the silent treatment all you want," she called over her shoulder brightly. "Soon enough you'll be talking to me like I'm the only person you've ever known."

She carefully tightened the final screw to just the right tension, placing the screwdriver onto the bench with finality. The new weapon was sleek and black, and although it was nameless, it'd still work just fine. Her only regret was that Jack couldn't be here thanks to the annual ghost convention two states away. As much as he had wanted to be there, they had both agreed over Skype that it was best to do this now, before the slippery character managed to escape.

Picking up the completed gun and cradling it in the crook of her arm like a newborn, Maddie used her free hand to drag a chair across the lab. She positioned it with its back facing the phase-proof and hypothetically indestructible ectoplasmic containment cube, straddling the chair and leaning her arms on its arched back.

The captive eyed its hunter apprehensively, drawing its knees up to its chest in a defensive position as it hovered in mid-air.

Maddie mentally kicked herself; she _had_ to stop referring to the boy as an it.

Phantom stared at her with wide eyes that sparkled emerald, the fear evident on his face. He had given up trying to hide how afraid he was several hours ago, and had quit the screaming and begging, instead lapsing into anxious taciturnity.

They stayed like that, hunter and hunted observing each other, for several long minutes.

The teen broke the silence. "I thought you were the type to chop me up and rip me apart _molecule by molecule_, not sit and stare."

"A week ago, I would have destroyed you," she admitted.

The ghost boy stiffened, his eyes flying from Maddie's face to the gun before returning to her eyes. The tip of a tongue darted out, moistening the spectre's lips with a quick movement before slipping out of sight again. He seemed to be struggling with something, and then Phantom sighed heavily, descending to touch the soles of white boots to the floor of his confinement. "How much do you know?" he demanded in a tired voice, shoulders slumping in defeat.

"I know that you're half human," the huntress confessed, twirling her gun expertly. "That knowledge allowed me to create _this_."

"You don't know my human identity?" he asked, and Maddie almost chuckled at the thought that he had deliberately ignored the reference to the sleek new weapon.

"Of course not," she stated, waving her free hand dismissively, "but I'll know soon enough."

Phantom seemed to cave. "Alright, I know you're dying to tell me. What does the gun do?"

Maddie felt a feral grin creep across her face. "Ghosts' memories are imprinted in their ectoplasm, so can't be destroyed without destroying the ghost. However, if my calculations are correct, this gun will be able to affect the human portion of your brain. This is great, because the only memories your ectoplasm should retain after being blasted by this baby are the skills that you have, including ghostly ones. No memories, just skills. It'll take you a while to recover from the blast – it destroys a lot of your ectoplasmic content, but don't worry. I promise that I'll take care of you."

Phantom took a step back in alarm, his fear visibly morphing into downright terror. "Wait, this isn't necessary!" he exclaimed. "Just let me explain!"

Maddie kicked the chair away, stalking forwards. "No, _you_ let _me_ explain! You terrorise the town, cause millions of dollars of damage, and engage in petty social gatherings with the other spectres! You're a menace, Phantom! So, once I've wiped your memories with this gun, I'll train you. You're going to become a ghost hunter, and help Jack and me to rid the town of invading spooks! Once you've been shot, your memories will disappear as you change into your human form."

"Y-you can't be serious," Phantom spluttered, pressing himself harder against the far end of his prison. "_Surely_ you're not that dense!"

Maddie raised the gun and fired in one smooth movement.

The blast passed through the ectoplasm confinement as though it didn't exist, slamming into the halfa's unprotected gut.

Phantom screeched, falling to his knees and instinctively pressing his hands against the burn. "_Mum!_" he shrieked, gloved hands flying to clutch at his head as a white ring snapped into place around his waist.

Maddie felt her heart stop at that familiar cry.

Phantom dug fingers into his scalp, sobbing as he visibly fought the transformation; the ring faltered, flickering briefly before brightening again. It split, the movements slow and halting as Danny tried to regain control of his hijacked core. Wherever the halos touched, ectoplasm and flesh fell away in sizzling patches, leaving the boy covered in burns of varying degrees as the blast from the gun attacked his ghost form.

Maddie could only watch in horror as they travelled jerkily over the teen's body. The pain in his head seemed to increase as neural pathways were destroyed, and Danny arched his back with a scream more tortured than Maddie had ever heard before, tearing at hair that turned black beneath his fingers. "_MUM!_" He collapsed as the rings disappeared, curling up with a whimper.

Maddie deactivated the confinement with a verbal code, stumbling forwards to wrap the child in her arms. "Danny… Danny, I'm sorry, I'm _so_ sorry, please be alright!" she begged hysterically, holding him close.

The boy squirmed before phasing out of her grasp, scuttling backwards on the floor with his face turned away. He was shaking, looking around the room with jerky movements of his head. A trail of blood and ectoplasm smeared across whatever he touched, welling up from the burns scattered over his skin.

"Danny?"

Blank blue eyes met hers, and Maddie's world came crashing down.


	2. Part II

**Wow, the reactions to this really surprised me! Thank you all so much! Thanks to your repeated requests, here's Part II of 'Blank'.**

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The first thing he did was turn on the radio.

The quiet house was unsettling, though the man hardly knew why. The music soothed his frayed nerves somewhat, and Danny sighed, turning to face the gleaming kitchen. His stomach growled, and he moved towards the cupboard, only to stop in the middle of the room.

Scrunching his forehead in concentration, Daniel Fenton realised with a pang of unease that he couldn't even recall his favourite foods.

Bracing himself against the table, the halfa took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. Shaking his head as though trying to clear it, he moved to the fridge, opening it to appraise the contents. _Well, at least I still remember how to cook, since it's a skill and not an actual memory…_

Half an hour later, he placed his hands on slim hips and surveyed the table with satisfaction. Danny had made every breakfast he could possibly create with the ingredients in the kitchen, and the table now held small plates and bowls that contained five or six mouthfuls of each kind of food.

Smirking, the boy flipped the switch on the coffee machine and ascended the stairs. He paused outside the door that Maddie had disappeared behind the previous night, gently tapping his knuckles against the wood. "Mum?" he called quietly. "I made us breakfast."

He heard footsteps shuffle across the carpet, and then the door was wrenched open. A woman stood there in rumpled pyjamas, her titian hair in disarray. Maddie's eyes were rimmed with red, hands trembling as she fisted them by her sides.

Danny couldn't recall ever seeing her before the previous night, but he somehow _knew_ that this woman was his mother. As sure as the sky outside was blue, he knew that he trusted her, and that whatever had happened last night, she would never hurt him intentionally.

"Danny?" Maddie licked her lips nervously. "Sweetheart, are you…?"

He shook his head. "Nah, sorry." He tapped his temple with a finger. "Blank as a clean slate. I can remember _how_ to do things, but I don't remember ever doing anything or meeting anyone. It's like nothing existed before last night."

The slight woman seemed to deflate. "Oh, _Honey_. I'm sorry," she choked, throwing her arms around him.

Danny flinched, squirming away as the burns covering his body throbbed from the contact. "Ow," he stated simply, and planted a kiss on his mother's forehead. "It's alright – even if I don't remember you, I know just by looking at you that I love and trust you. I can just _tell_ that you're my mum."

Maddie opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off before she could. "I've made breakfast for us, and the coffee machine should be done by now."

Maddie smiled wanly. "Well, I guess we'd better go enjoy it, then. It's been a while since I've tasted your cooking…"

Gently looping his arm through hers, Danny led his dishevelled mother down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Maddie stared at the table. "Danny, what are you doing?"

The halfa shrugged, turning the radio down a little bit. "I was hungry, but I don't know my favourite foods," he confessed. "Since I can't remember what I like, I thought that I'd just make a little bit of each type of breakfast and figure it out from that."

A tear slid down Maddie's cheek, and the wiped it away quickly. "That's a fantastic idea," the woman croaked, reaching for the proffered mug of coffee with trembling hands.

Danny smiled, but it seemed wrong somehow. "Yeah, that's what I thought. By the way, I had the feeling to put two sugars in your coffee, and that soy milk stuff."

"Yes, that's how I always have it," Maddie whispered, sitting down and cradling the mug in her fingers as she blew steam off the top.

Danny took his own seat, taking a sip of coffee from a mug in his hands. The man instantly grimaced, placing the ceramic cup on the table and taking a swig from a glass of juice that sat next to his plate. "Alright, I officially hate coffee," he admitted.

Maddie chuckled despite the circumstances. "You've never liked it," she told the halfa. "Your favourite is hot chocolate with a couple of sugars and some marshmallows, and you also like peppermint tea, although you never tell anyone about that because Vlad likes tea as well, and you don't like Vlad."

Danny shifted uncomfortably, looking down at his food. "Thanks," he whispered, and lifted a spoonful of fruit loops to his mouth.

"Whoa, these are great!" he exclaimed, scoffing the remaining mouthfuls in the tiny dessert bowl.

Maddie chuckled, cutting the slice of French toast in two and handing half to her son. "Try this," she insisted, munching on her own half.

Danny did as she asked, grinning at the sweet treat. Sweeping his gaze across the table, he picked up a buttered piece of regular toast. After one bite, the young man gingerly placed the food back onto its plate and quickly drank a mouthful of orange juice. "Gross," he grumped, glaring playfully at Maddie as she giggled.

Pausing in his meal, Danny glanced at the ring finger on his left hand. "By the way, what's this ring that I'm wearing?" He held up the hand to reinforce his question. The ring consisted of a black band rimmed with silver, inlaid with glittering blue gemstones.

Maddie flinched. "Danny, you're… You're engaged. Sam, your fiancé, insisted that if she had to wear a fancy engagement ring, you had to as well."

Danny stilled. "Damn it," he whispered, running his fingers over the ring. "How old am I?"

"You just turned twenty. If it makes it any easier, Sam's currently at some sort of writing workshop interstate, and won't be back for about a fortnight."

The halfa buried his face in his hands, taking several deep breaths. "Tell me about her," he pleaded.

Maddie nudged a bowl containing a poached egg and a strip of bacon towards her son, waiting until he resumed eating before she spoke. Danny steadily devoured the assorted samples as she told him of his fiancé's interests, her diet, and the different things that they had done together. "She's your match," Maddie assured him as the man sculled the remainder of his juice, "and you've loved each other for a long time now."

"Is there anyone else?"

The huntress tilted her head in confusion, and Danny shrugged. "Y'know, do I have any other friends?"

"The only one you've held onto after graduation is Tucker – he's been your best friend since you stopped Sam from beating him up in second grade."

"Could you please tell me about him, as well?" the halfa asked, moving to refill his mother's coffee.

Maddie shook her head. "How about I call him and tell him to come over?"

"I…"

"Danny, you have to face him sometime."

"Knowing about him'll make it easier."

"Trust me, I only told you about Sam because she can't come and see you right now. It'll be better for you to hear everything about Tucker from the man himself."

The young man nodded, moving to wash the pile of dishes from his breakfast adventure. "So, what am I doing with my life?"

Maddie sighed, blowing on the surface of her coffee before taking a sip. "You're working here for now, helping down in the lab, and you'll be taking over the family business eventually. You wanted to be an astronaut, but… Well, you obviously hunt ghosts as Phantom. That would be the reason you barely passed high school."

A pang of loss that he really didn't understand shot through the man. "But, I wouldn't have let ghost hunting do that to me if I didn't think it was important, right?"

The woman shook her head, responding in a voice that trembled. "No, I think keeping people safe from ghosts is one of the most important things to you in the world."

"Then why are you crying?" he demanded, dumping the dishes into hot, soapy water.

Maddie collapsed into her chair. "It was so important to you that you never even told us that you're half ghost," she wailed. "I-I get that you were scared, I really do, but _why _didn't you trust us?! We wouldn't be in this situation… I-I never would've pulled the trigger if I knew that I was _shooting my own son!_" The last few words morphed into a scream, and Maddie hunched over, sobbing into her hands.

A plate slipped through Danny's hands as he turned intangible involuntarily, shattering into pieces on the floor. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out – he couldn't find the words to make this better. He knew that he could somehow make this right again, but the reassurance just wouldn't _come!_ He was a superhero, for goodness' sake, so why couldn't he save his own mother?!

_You could fix this if you actually knew what was going on, but you don't know, and you never will again thanks to her! _Danny pushed the thought away, reaching to place a soapy hand on her shoulder.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Maddie rasped, and this question snapped something inside the young man. Guilt, thick and cloying and _inexplicable_, ripped through his chest.

Danny's knees buckled and he fell to kneel on the floor, sobbing into his hands as Maddie reached out to run fingers wet with tears through his midnight hair.


End file.
